Do the Words Matter? Party Platforms and Ideological Change in Republican Politics

Unformatted Document Text:
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process of intra-party faction power battles necessitating greater attention to the 1972 or 1964
platforms to uncover the foundations of the planks comprised in the 1980 Republican platform.
We suggest three mechanisms specifying how platforms matter in terms of shaping the
political universe, namely (1) they signal the strength of one intra-party faction relative to
others; (2) they are cues to relevant issue publics about party commitments and thus are
mechanisms of accountability; and (3) they serve as a resource of other candidates to frame
their election rhetoric. Using content analysis of media coverage of platform battles curing the
1976 and 1980 Republican convention as well as communications between interest groups and
the Reagan administration, we find initial evidence to support the first two mechanisms. Next
steps in this research agenda will include gathering evidence to test the third hypothesized
mechanism. To do this, we would inquire as to whether incumbent Republican senators
seeking re-election in 1982 re-frame their campaign rhetoric to align with the 1980 platform as
compared with their 1976 election rhetoric. If the 1982 rhetoric demonstrates a marked change
from the 1976 rhetoric, then we can more confidently claim that the platform is affecting the
candidates rather than the candidates re-writing the platform. Yet the evidence gathered and
analyzed thus far is compelling. Evidence confirming these two mechanisms suggest that
platforms may have some effect on altering the terms of the political universe following an
election. As such, understanding how one intra-party faction acquires more power within a
party to control a platform becomes increasingly important if we are to understand more fully
how ideological change of American parties occurs. We see the need to be more attuned to
interest group interaction with the party, and particularly to how this interaction both shapes the
content of platforms and signals policy commitment and politician accountability down the
line. Furthermore, attention to this dynamic will help to gain leverage on the shifting power

Authors: Azari, Julia. and Engel, Stephen.

Page 33 of 38

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process of intra-party faction power battles necessitating greater attention to the 1972 or 1964

platforms to uncover the foundations of the planks comprised in the 1980 Republican platform.

We suggest three mechanisms specifying how platforms matter in terms of shaping the

political universe, namely (1) they signal the strength of one intra-party faction relative to

others; (2) they are cues to relevant issue publics about party commitments and thus are

mechanisms of accountability; and (3) they serve as a resource of other candidates to frame

their election rhetoric. Using content analysis of media coverage of platform battles curing the

1976 and 1980 Republican convention as well as communications between interest groups and

the Reagan administration, we find initial evidence to support the first two mechanisms. Next

steps in this research agenda will include gathering evidence to test the third hypothesized

mechanism. To do this, we would inquire as to whether incumbent Republican senators

seeking re-election in 1982 re-frame their campaign rhetoric to align with the 1980 platform as

compared with their 1976 election rhetoric. If the 1982 rhetoric demonstrates a marked change

from the 1976 rhetoric, then we can more confidently claim that the platform is affecting the

candidates rather than the candidates re-writing the platform. Yet the evidence gathered and

analyzed thus far is compelling. Evidence confirming these two mechanisms suggest that

platforms may have some effect on altering the terms of the political universe following an

election. As such, understanding how one intra-party faction acquires more power within a

party to control a platform becomes increasingly important if we are to understand more fully

how ideological change of American parties occurs. We see the need to be more attuned to

interest group interaction with the party, and particularly to how this interaction both shapes the

content of platforms and signals policy commitment and politician accountability down the

line. Furthermore, attention to this dynamic will help to gain leverage on the shifting power

Convention

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